Forest Guardian: I Really Don’t Want to Be a Beast Tamer

"Ugh, stop it."

Sound asleep, Chen Yuan could clearly feel something licking his cheek, wet and warm. He subconsciously reached out to touch it, but suddenly woke up in shock.

Wait a minute.

How did I fall asleep?

With a blank expression, Chen Yuan sat up, staring blankly at Cola, who was licking the palm of his hand. His hazy consciousness gradually cleared.

He remembered.

He had originally planned to doze off on the meadow and rest for a while, but as soon as he closed his eyes, the surrounding environment was so comfortable that he unconsciously fell asleep.

Chen Yuan took out his phone and glanced at it. It was now 6:30 PM. He put away his phone, squinted at the red glow in the sky, and muttered to himself, "The good news is that the sun hasn't completely set yet."

He suddenly got up, his voice continuing, "The bad news is that it will be dark in at most half an hour."

Looking around, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the group of Star Moon Deer and the little creatures from before had not left. They were either趴着 (lying down), 躺着 (reclining), or 站立 (standing), still lingering on this meadow bathed in the golden afterglow.

But Chen Yuan had to leave.

He had wasted too much time here and had to hurry to the only forest ranger's hut in this area to spend the night.

Once night fell, the danger level of the Qinling Mountains would increase several notches.

Chen Yuan picked up the snack wrappers and threw them into the trash bag, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and waved goodbye to the pet beasts.

After gaining their favor through snacks, in order to maintain their vigilance towards humans, Chen Yuan did not choose to have too much contact with them.

At most, he secretly touched them while they were eating to obtain Source Points.

In this way, his number of Source Points returned to double digits.

"Ying ~"

The Flame-tailed Fox seemed a little reluctant. It ran over, bit Chen Yuan's trouser leg, raised its head, and showed a pitiful little face.

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "What? Can't bear to see me go?"

"Ying ying ying."

The Flame-tailed Fox's eyes flickered with a faint light, and it stretched out its paw to point to the small bread wrapper, while opening its mouth, as if still savoring the taste of the jam-filled bread.

Remember to bring this next time!

The smile on Chen Yuan's face suddenly disappeared. He glared at the Flame-tailed Fox and said unhappily, "Why are you becoming more and more like Cola? All you know is eat, eat, eat."

Cola widened its doggy eyes: "?"

The sky was getting darker and darker, and the afterglow of the setting sun was rapidly fading. The Flame-tailed Fox led its little companions away from Crescent Lake, and several figures遁入 (disappeared into) the dense forest.

Chen Yuan's gaze lingered on the Flame-tailed Fox for a long time. Its figure gradually transformed into a leaping, dazzling flame, and soon disappeared.

"Roar ~"

The Deer King slowly stood up. Its burly and tall body attracted Chen Yuan's attention. He saw it raise its head and roar. The Star Moon Deer resting around it stood up one after another, surrounding the Deer King.

Led by the Deer King, the Star Moon Deer tribe began to advance towards their habitat. They stepped on the meadow, draped in the breeze, with the gradually darkening sky above their heads.

Countless stars lit up on their bodies, reflecting on the calm lake surface, becoming a true sky full of stars.

They walked faster and faster, still walking as if on flat ground in the steep and rugged mountains. Chen Yuan quietly watched their departing figures.

He saw countless dancing stars.

"We should go too."

When Crescent Lake returned to tranquility, Chen Yuan looked at the two little fellows beside him and slowly spoke.

Today's experience was like a dream. Now that the dream is over, he should get down to business.

"Chirp ~"

Spark lightly flapped its wings, flying in front of Chen Yuan, its body blooming with bright flames, illuminating the path ahead.

"Woof!"

Cola strode with the wind, constantly running around Chen Yuan, sniffing for suspicious smells with its nose from time to time, checking for every danger lurking in the dark for Chen Yuan.

Once it found something wrong, Cola would immediately stop and bark repeatedly, alerting Chen Yuan.

For Chen Yuan, as a forest ranger, Spark and Cola were indispensable.

The former could provide light in the dark night and bring warmth in the cold winter; the latter could check for danger, and also...

In the vast Qinling Mountains, there were many forest ranger's huts, but this was one of the closest to the core area of the Qinling Mountains.

The forest ranger who stayed here was called Lao Xing by them. He was an eccentric person who was reclusive and unwilling to communicate with others.

However, this kind of personality was more suitable for being a forest ranger.

After all, forest rangers shuttled through the mountains all day long, suffering from hardship and fatigue, not to mention the low wages and poor treatment. There was no fresh food on the mountain, and no one to communicate with.

But it was under such harsh conditions that Lao Xing stayed here for more than ten years.

Chen Yuan once came here with Zhang Hao to rescue wild animals and send some living supplies to Lao Xing. He was deeply impressed by this eccentric person.

Zhang Hao once sighed that he, who lived in the village and patrolled the edge all day long, was a fake forest ranger.

Lao Xing, who stayed on the mountain for decades, was the real forest ranger.

Chen Yuan was going to spend the night here tonight, and also ask Lao Xing some questions, such as the changes in this area after the spiritual energy recovery, the approximate ratio of wild animals evolving into extraordinary creatures, and so on.

Tomorrow, he would go deeper into the Qinling Mountains to take some photos and videos, and then return to the village.

Continuing forward in the night, although Chen Yuan took a few wrong turns, fortunately he was fast, and finally arrived at the forest ranger's hut at a little after eight o'clock.

This forest ranger's hut was located on the mountainside, with a wide view. If you looked south from here during the day, you could clearly see the highest main ridge of the Qinling Mountains, which was the terrifying Ao Tai Line that made countless hikers pale in fear.

But it was night, and the exhausted Chen Yuan just wanted to enter the forest ranger's hut as soon as possible and lie in bed for a good rest.

"Huh? Did he go to sleep so early?"

Seeing the cabin ahead was pitch black, Chen Yuan frowned, but he didn't think much about it.

In this remote place, it was normal to rest at sunset.

However, after walking a few steps forward, Chen Yuan's frown deepened. He glanced around and whispered, "Something's wrong."

He remembered that when he came up last year, Lao Xing raised a big black dog, which would bark loudly when it saw people from a distance.

What's more, Chen Yuan brought Cola up the mountain this time. As the saying goes, when two dogs meet, there must be a fight, but now it was so quiet, which was abnormal.

Quickening his pace, Chen Yuan quickly came to the front of the cabin and shouted loudly, "Lao Xing, Lao Xing, are you there?"

After shouting twice in a row, the inside of the cabin was quiet and there was no response.

Chen Yuan stood in place and pondered for a moment, then looked at the two little fellows: "Be vigilant, and take action immediately if you find something wrong."

"Woof."

"Chirp."

The two little fellows nodded repeatedly.

Immediately, Chen Yuan stepped forward and walked to the front of the cabin door.